"Ugh." Sonia hated going underground. It brought up too many old memories of tiptoeing through Bludstadt's own tunnel system. One time she'd been forced to crawl through a section underneath the arena itself. There was a pit that was home to the bodies of the fighters who died in fights. All that blood of the walls, the bones of skeletons whose flesh had long since decayed, and vermin skittering around...

She shuddered, drawing her coat closer around her as she stood a short way down the tunnel, waiting for the others to catch up. The sooner they had a safe place to hide, away from the infection, the better... if it were above ground Sonia would be feeling a lot better. She kept her complaints to herself, though, taking comfort in the fact that she still had her purse full of the things she took everywhere. That and not being subjected to the infection... she wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Ilya didn't have to think twice about going forward with the girl's name who seemed younger(and kinder) than the other woman. In actuality, Ilya doesn't have the exact age of herself but just a rough estimate of what part of her life she's in. She's a young adult, that much she could infer but her exact age is lost. Even with her memory, keeping track of her age in the wasteland was something lost to her which she kept track of her number of days she was alive rather than her years on earth. This girl seemed about her age.

The dull sound of the alarm blaring was delivered to them by the acoustics of the underground but the sentiment was all the same. She feared the infected about as much as she does humans with humans pulling forward due to their imagination. She knows she has an advantage in detecting the infected which is the reason why she prefers seeing them first instead of humans.

As they clambered together, Ilya pulled ahead as she recognized the paths back to the surface along with her affinity for navigating in these environments.

"Over here!" Ilya said to the girl, pointing to the familiar entrance way in which Ilya and Derrick came from. She climbed up the ladder carefully and slowly scanned the area of which surrounded the manhole. Ilya didn't see any life signs nearby meaning that the place was devoid of life... for now. The alarm definitely scattered the people that lingered in the streets meaning those stuck outside were either the infected or the soldiers looking to hunt them down. She wasn't sure where Derrick was but she was certain he was fine albeit a little worried and curios as to how he could handle that woman.

Sapphire only let a few minutes pass in silence as the merchant closed the entrance and jumped down. "Let's get going, my lady. Enough excitement for one day.""C-can we just sit for a minute? I need a second to -Derrick!"The merchant had come behind her and swept her off her feet. Literally. "P-put me down! Merchant, you are being insufferable!" Despite the lack of light, she knew he was grinning. And despite what had just transpired, Cybille started to laugh, putting an arm around his neck to sit up better. "That was close, wasn't it? Honestly... I thought that I would be scared, but look! I can hardly contain myself." she cooed. "Of course, I'll need to properly thank you for rescuing me." She cupped Derrick's cheek and gave him a small peck.

The muffled blare of the alarms got through the meeting all right, and they must have been important. The other three people in the little meeting area bolted up as the construction commando had his entire underground commune mobilized into a beehive of activity in a matter of moments. And he was all set to start giving orders.

"Unfortunately you will become a more long term guest than you thought. You go outside at this point and they are just as likely to kill you as talk to you. We don't know each other very well but I'm not going to be responsible for another person's death if I can help it."

Platinum mulled this thought over for about a second while he talked to the two others. I don't think I can stay underground for any amount of time. I mean this place is nice and all, but I'm not waiting down here for the walls to collapse and get taken away or killed.

"Sorry, shug," she said as he went over the defence plan. "I didn't travel all the way across the wastelands just to sit back and man the glory hole. If they're going this gung-ho some little thing scooting in, then they're going to get me sooner or later, so I'd rather just make it sooner and take as many of the bastards out while we got a shot. So you don't have to worry, cause this is my call and I'm making it." She moved off, towards the sleeping area. "I'm going to go see if I can find my clothes in a dry state. If they are, then they're better built for moving quick. I'll be back in a either a few seconds or a few minutes. Don't start the party without me." Her piece said, she continued off to try and find the laundry area where they might be.

As Derrick swept Sapphire off her feet, he was more than happy as he noticed they were more or less alone at this point, allowing him the privacy that he had been seeking. Not the most romantic of spaces, but the quick peck turned the grin into a smile as he held her even closer and higher with her arm around his neck.

"Close, my lady, but you performed magnificently as always. I would almost think you were doing a bit or practicing without me." Derrick whispered, lightly putting his forehead to hers. "And I'm always ready to be around to rescue you. I do know how much you love getting into trouble...and I look forward to being properly thanked as well." Derrick finished with a small peck of his own as he continued onward through the tunnels.

"So, now that you are done working....where would you like to go? I know of a few good places that we could stay...not high town, mind you, but I think that place is a bit too stuffy for your graces anyways. And...I must apologize for not getting you out sooner. Didn't catch on till everyone was moving out." Derrick made a small hop as he jumped off of a small ledge. Was going to take a little longer to catch up with Ilya and Ruby, with him doing the carrying, but then again that was exactly how Derrick would have it. Some private time was always appreciated, even if it was in these dark tunnels.

"You know us girls. Need to keep strong and healthy to outrun skirt chasers like you." she teased. "Where would I be in life if I let everyone who gave chase win?"

Even underground, although muffled, the screams and gunshots were audible. They echoed eerily, almost like the ghosts were fighting amongst themselves. It made Cybille's hair stand up. The sounds were scarier in the dark: not seeing what was making the noise, and being in less of a position to defend. This was only Cybille's third or fourth virus breakout, but the very first being so sorely unprotected and vulnerable. So out in the open.

"As long as wherever "there" is is safe, and has a big bed..." Is this an isolated breakout? Triumph is such a crowded and overpopulated city... this could really get out of hand...

On the streets, now surrounded by an entire section of men, Simms was gunning down every zombie he saw. "C'mon, men. Move! Simms ordered. The guards were running through the streets as a single unit, clearing them of infected with deadly efficiency, but Simms wondered if this would be enough. The infection was spreading incredibly fast; it could very easily come to swallow Triumph within the span of a day at this rate if they didn't kill it quickly. The first course of action was to find its origin, Simms was on his way to the restaurant where one of the first attacks was reported to have occurred.

Crossing through the market district closest to the breakout, the men found this once bustling area to have been quickly and haphazardly abandoned. The wind picked up, causing the dust to swirl violently through the air, obscuring the vision of even the helmeted guards. "Push on through!" Simms bellowed out another order.They passed more stalls, as the winds ripped the remaining items off of their displays. Metals could be heard hitting and dragging across the ground. As the winds died down, and visibility was regained, the guards could see what looked like a regular human, combing through the stalls.

"Citizen!" Simms shouted, trying to get the looter's attention. He momentarily stopped and looked at the force of a dozen men standing in front of him. Only one warning, Simms thought to himself, before raising his gun at the looter. Without a second of hesitation, the man bolted, trying to escape down one of the side alleys. But not a few seconds later, the guards could hear an ear piercing scream. They followed the sound, and saw a small army of the undead. The lead few zombies had easily caught the hapless looter, and had pinned him to the ground, now taking bites out of him.

One of the zombies looked up from its meal at the new arrivals, the typical throaty gurgle coming from its blood stained mouth. As it rose to get up, a headshot brought it back down. A wall of gunfire swept the alley, as the infected quickly fell. Simms went over to the zombies' latest victim, still alive, but with several bloody chunks taken out of him. He groaned in pain as he tried to reach out with one of his bitten arms, looking for aid from the guard captain. Simms just stared at the man coldly, lightly kicking the arm aside with his left foot and stepping on it, securing it with a heavy boot, before executing him with a clean headshot.

Watching Platinum take off, Allison turned back to William. "Will," she said, "The plan's all well and good, but if anything's going on up there, we have to help those people. You know what happens here. The guards are gonna kill anything that moves, friend or foe...""You can't be serious," Redding interjected, "We're already understaffed as it is, especially in Triumph. Erebus would want us to regroup at the base.""Erebus would want us to protect these people, it's them we're fighting for," she responded, her tone harsher."And how good will we be at fighting if one of our combatants gets taken out by her own stupidity?!""What about Saber? He's still out there!""If Agent Saber has any sense, he'll be heading back to the base..."

There are a few new travelers in the tunnels. They must be either the adventurous, or the knowledgeable sort. Not many know about the buncha tunnels 'round here. I bet they're trying to escape from the zombies. Can't see why though. Maybe they just don't feel like pressing their luck.Doesn't matter. They can't stop us now.

The sound of putty being slapped against the wall echoed through the tunnel. A quick set of mechanical clicks were heard, signifying a lock into place.

What's that? Footsteps... they're that close by?

The figure quickly dashed out of sight, barely making a sound, save for the clacking of claws briefly brushing up against the wall. The figure settled into place, as glowing yellow eyes receded into the darkness.

"Technically I can't stop either of you. What I can do though is stop you two from committing suicide. I'll send a couple of my people with you, call it a squad, I guess get who you can and lock up as you go. They'll take you to the end of their section of the tunnels, if you want to go any further they'll wait nearby for you. As for you Redding, I still need you to mark down what route your people plan to take so we can secure it and make sure they aren't hassled." William said in between bouts of giving orders to both those out in the tunnels and those who had stayed behind to help protect the sick and the young.

"Though I will say the both of you should do as we do, stay out of sight as much as you can."

------------------------------------

Groups of men we going through their section of tunnel, checking service entrances and stations as they went. The few doors they left unlocked were locked as they went and the station entrances left boarded up on the inside and with shutters down on the outside. The found the metal security shutters to have been a boon when originally sealing these places up due to the fact they provided handy space to run metal ties through to hold up the boards when the boards themselves couldn't cover the length of the openings.

Some tunnels had collapsed after years of disuse but those kept marked on one of the subway maps that used to help tourists before the original bout of infection. The workers kept lights and weapons and one of them would paint symbols on the doors of cleared areas marking them as locked and safe, it allowed any future groups coming through what needed to be checked and what didn't. Especially if one of the other groups who lived in the stations came upon the section.

It was well practiced and had been taught to them by workers from previous outbreaks and in drills. Their group had two rules during these situations, don't go topside and don't leave your section. Something that Allison and Platinum were going to be doing, were it a time for gossip they would either commend them for their bravery or call them suicidal fools to be going outside during an outbreak.

Derrick couldn't help but lightly chuckle as he continued along the tunnels, finally noting another figure standing up ahead. The smaller figure meaning that it was Ruby, likely standing back to wait for them, which was somewhat odd, but Derrick wasn't too bothered by it.

"Skirt chasers like me? I thought you didn't much care for wearing skirts all the time. 'Leaving nothing to the imagination', or something like that." Derrick whispered teasingly back. He was somewhat annoyed that the nice walk was over now. Still, with things the way they were he could enjoy more moments like this later.

"Though, question now is if we can even get somewhere largely safe...city isn't exactly a good place when the guards get infected...." Derrick said, before stopping to look up where Ilya had gone.

"Clear? Get back down here for the moment. Right now, the entire surface is a kill zone, meaning that guards are just as likely to start shooting as the zombies are to start eating. For now, down here in the tunnels is the best spot. Fewer people, and fewer problems..." As Derrick spoke, he continued his carrying of Sapphire, still somewhat enjoying the idea of sweeping her off her feet. For now though, remaining in this particular section of the tunnels would suit his needs. While sometimes gunfire and shouting could be heard, none of it was coming from the tunnels they were in, and that was good enough for Derrick.

Could try a rush to the nearby inn....but that's risky and foolish. No telling who is actually infected in there, nor how many of the bastards are waiting around the corners in the city now. I have enough ammo for a few, but not....well, enough of them.

"Gasp!" Cybille feigned offense. "Merchant, I am disappointed in you! That is a terribly rude thing to say to a lady. I cannot believe you are repeating things I've confessed to you in private confidence, out loud. You know that I leave plenty to the imagination. Just not to yours. But let's keep that between ourselves, hmm? A girl's got to make a living." she winked.

Ruby materialized out of the shadows ahead, between them and the new assistant girl. The blonde haired girl looked hesitant to continue, and quite honestly, Cybille was torn too. The merchant was right. On one hand, it was probably safer down here for now, at least until everything was under control again at the surface. On the other hand... who could tell what was going to end up in the tunnels? The mutants could find a way, maybe, with the dozens of entrances, or the guards might purge the city all the way to the roots, if they so chose. She got down out of Derrick's arms, walking over to where the ladder was and peering up at Ilya and the cracked opening. More gunfire and the screams. Of all the places to be during an outbreak... she contemplated their choices worriedly, tugging absentmindedly on a lock of her hair. "Are we just supposed to wait down here? Do we even know how long we won't be able to leave?" She looked both ways down the tunnel. "Does this lead anywhere else?"

Derrick couldn't help but nod in approval as Sapphire told him that perhaps there were some things that needed to be left between each other, which he was more than happy to agree with. However, it seemed that now they needed something more to do. Sitting here at the entrance to the upper area seemed less and less like a good idea the longer Derrick gave it thought, and as Sapphire stepped over to the tunnels, he realized that perhaps there was a small break area nearby. It was probably owned by some demolitions team or something, but right now that was probably the best place for them....long as they didn't get themselves infected and wandered down there, or was filled by thugs. Though he could confidently handle thugs.

"They do lead to quite a few areas, actually. Somewhat...indirect, but there is a place we could go to. Might take a bit of climbing though, my ladies. Would hate for you to get a bit dirty on our way there and back...." Derrick said, stepping to where Sapphire stood and peering down the tunnel in question. It wouldn't be too far...as long as it was uneventful and he went reasonably slow. Of course, that was going to be somewhat a problem.

"Unless you want to try and be a looter and find some weapons and secure our own building. Though I wouldn't want you to exert yourself too much." Derrick said wryly, pulling out his own gun and checking it. With Cybille out of his hands he now could concentrate on defense.

Sonia blinked, slightly shocked, when the merchant - Derrick, she thought she remembered his name to be - drew a pistol from somewhere. He seemed to know his way around the weapon, too, as he examined it. It was a little odd... just as it was odd that he had been carrying Sapphire through the tunnels. Sonia put two and two together easily enough, but now wasn't the time to make such observations.

The two of them seemed to be talking about moving away from here, deeper into the tunnels. Sonia wasn't too big on the idea herself. There was the chance that they would get lost, or stumble across someone that wouldn't take kindly to wanderers, or God knew what else. Sure, it was best to go through this kind of thing with a few others, but it was better not to go through it at all, she reasoned. Especially when there was every chance that her mentor would pick apart everything she said and did...

Sonia mentally kicked herself. She was panicking. But knowledge of the fact didn't make it any easier to deal with. Rather than voice her concerns, she kept silent, shifting her weight from side to side and fidgeting with a stray lock of hair.

Ilya lowered herself down towards the darkness once more. On the way down she heard the crackle of distant gunfire and a few screams on distress, panic, pain, etc. Ilya arrived, catching the tail end of Derrick's proposition. She also saw Derrick pull out a pistol from his large coat. She eyed the pistol for a few moments, wondering what could happen deeper down in the tunnel. Ilya knew Derrick was prepared for just about anything for the most part. Up above, Ilya could hear the crackle turn into a loud snaps of gunfire meaning the fighting was getting closer.

"We should get going soon..." Ilya said to Derrick, walking towards the tunnel where he was standing as well. The gunfire was making Ilya a bit anxious. "Gunfire's getting closer."

"Really? What gave you that idea?" Cybille scoffed sarcastically, edging closer to Derrick and eying the "apprentice" . "Anyways, it looks like we're all in favor of staying in the tunnels. So where does this go?"

It was starting to look impossible to keep her silk dress intact. She could have taken it off, but prancing around in a dark tunnel in nothing but a cape and a thong did not exactly strike Cybille as appealing. Instead, she took out her dagger and started ripping slits in the sides of her dress, past her garters, high enough so that she could move fairly well in it. She removed her cloak and refashioned it as a scarf, determined to not waste more articles of clothing than she had to. She tossed the dagger to Ruby, figuring she wasn't comfortable in her dress either.

It took a couple minutes, but Platinum discovered the laundry room in another one of the storefronts. Her clothes had been laid out on a counter next to the battered looking washing machines, and looked pretty dry. It didn't take much to dry them, they were made for running around and repelling water. I'll be damned if I'm going to die in a pair of sweatpants, that's for sure. She scooped up her clothes and retreated back to the showers. It was more for the sake of the others than herself. She could strip down and back up blindfolded with no problem (and she's done so on a bet between two high-rollers at the Sparrow) but she had the feeling it might not be in the best interests of the population of the station to do so where there could be children milling about according to William's assertion. That's all I need to do. Give an anatomy lesson to some kid. 'And this kids, is what happens when you're really unlucky and get bit all to hell. But don't worry, there's not a second set of teeth down there!' That'll go over well.

She switched back into her running clothes in no time at all and proceeded back out to the main lobby. I shouldn't need the heavier stuff, and hey, I can probably charm some off of someone else if need be. Or threaten them. Whatever works. William, Allison and the suit were still in the middle of everything so she went to join the group. "All right, I'm as ready as I'm going to be for moving, so it's up to you all when we head out, I guess."

Derrick paused, waiting to think and also listen as the gunfire seemed to continue its approach as Ilya had stated. While Cybille obviously didn't much care for his new partner, he would hope that things were a little better once they had a chance to sit down and actually talk....rather than escaping the undead and soldiers who were happy to wreck anything. He couldn't help but give a small nod as she made some small changes to her clothes, which meant that perhaps he wouldn't be carrying her all the way through the tunnels. Probably for the better at this point.

"Well, I think this particular path will take us to....a hub? Hard to recall the direction of all these tunnels, but I am reasonably sure it goes to an old demolitions hub or something." Derrick said thoughtfully, trying to get what little ideas of the paths he would take on the odd chance that something like this would happen.

"So, if anyone sees anything particularly telling, we should head this way. Find that old hub and stay there for a bit. Shouldn't be too hard to secure an area like that, and it might have some old things to make the experience slightly more...comfortable than sitting in the dirt.

Derrick's demeanor shifted slightly as he peered down the tunnel. It turned more into business and survival than the enjoyment he was having before. It was dangerous down here, and with the battle up top that made it much more important to be cautious.

Cybille followed behind Derrick, watching the ground as carefully as she could. The occasional steps and rocks made proceeding tedious. "Ruby, dear, don't you have some sort of light on you? I'm not too keen on groping around in the dark. Oh wait. Yes I am." she laughed, cut short by a stumble.

They stepped down into an old subway track. It was eerie... it was such a contrast to the aboveground trains, whose stations were filled with people and noise. There was only a lonely skeleton propped up against the wall. Cybille wondered how it died... she couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman. "Is it even safe down here...? The air's so stale..."

Sonia shied away from the skeleton, not wanting to look at it. It wasn't anything she hadn't seen before, but a person dying alone in a dank, stuffy tunnel? She didn't want to think about it. Instead she turned her attention back to the request for a light from Sapphire. The younger courtesan checked her purse: a few handfuls of coins and banknotes, her lockpicks, her knife... no light sources, though. Not even a matchbox.

"Sorry, Sapphire, I don't have anything," she answered, tentatively stepping over a leg bone as the group of four proceeded down the tunnel. I should be more prepared for this sort of thing next time I'm invited out... this is why I prefer working from the Sparrow, she thought.

"Oh dear. You would be the first person I expected to bring something like that." Cybille had brought a lighter, since smoking was sometimes one of the more popular qualities found attractive in a woman, but it was back in the Behari manse. She cursed losing all of the things she brought, but luckily it wasn't anything easily replaced. A gold plated lighter with flowers etched into it, a change of "street clothes", a couple naughty unmentionables, and some basics like a bottle of nailpolish, make up, and a hairbrush.

The darkness was once in a while cut by rays of dusty sunlight that found their way in through various cracks. It only highlighted how vast the dark was. The ceiling arced high above them, and around them, used to accommodating trains, not stragglers. Sapphire carefully made her way around some debris that had been piled up to the side.

"Hmm hmm hmm... just came to say hello... hmm hm hm..." Boredom and stress had made her jittery, so Sapphire resorted to humming absentmindedly, trying not to play "count the dead people".

"All right, I'm as ready as I'm going to be for moving, so it's up to you all when we head out, I guess."

"Then we go now," Allison stated, while reaching into the gear bag she and Redding brought with them. She pulled out a vintage, pre-appocalypse sawed off shotgun, the weapon seemed rather impractical in the hands of the small, 5'2" girl, but she looked at the weapon with confidence, as she reached further into the bag for some shells.

From the shadows, the mysterious figure was silently tailing a group of four, two of them looked rather like they had never been down below the surface streets a day in their lives. As they passed through the old subway station, their hidden pursuer's mind began to get more active.

The signal hasn't come in yet, might be due to being underground. I'm sure more than enough time has passed to start setting things in motion. But these few here; can't have them wandering around; they reek of troublemaker.

The figure flipped open a panel on its cybernetic arm, which revealed numerous dials and some sort of crude radio-like set up.

Of course, I have ways of getting them to go where I want.

With a few twists of the dials, an ear piercing sound shot through the stale, dusty air. It seemed to echo all around, making it impossible to determine its origin. Other areas of the maintenance tunnels lit up with the same sound, the entire painful process only lasting a handful of seconds; which was all the time the signals needed to do their job.

The blast could be felt all through Triumph.

Simms and his men momentarily stopped in their tracks, as the ground beneath them shook. Even the undead in the area seemed taken aback by it for a brief few seconds. Simms himself said nothing; the determined glare in his eyes being the only thing needed. He was quickly putting the pieces together; these events were timed so close to each other, this wasn't a freak accident, but a planned attack!

Of course the tunnels felt it the worst. Anyone down there was sure to lose their footing and tumble to the ground, as pieces of the old subway ceiling came falling down and landing with a solid thunk.

Several members of William's demolitions team were either caught in the blasts located near their stations, or crushed by the falling debris as they tried to escape, as sections of the tunnels collapsed and access to them was now blocked.

Some of the emergency access points to the streets above were now made impassible by the debris. The point at the back alleys, near GunShotz, and the one near the upscale marketplace were still clear for the moment, but the vast maze of connecting tunnels was quickly becoming more restricted and claustrophobic.

The ground shook with a fury Platinum hadn't felt since Big Betty found out there was only one chicken left on the buffet back at the Cannons. There was a deafening noise to accompany it, like when Big Betty got jilted by a john she thought loved her. But she can't be here. She had that cardiac arrest on the job and got the cloth treatment on the way out the door. So whatever the hell that noise was had to be something more deadly.

"So yeah, you wanted me to stay with that sort of thing happening?" she asked William. "I'm gonna pass on that Darlin'" She turned to Allison. "So when we heading out to do this hun?"

William shook and immediately whipped around on Platinum when she made a crack.

"Those were explosives, and I'd appreciate you not joking when some of my friends probably just died!" He got on his radio.

"All teams report in and return to base immediately! With the tunnels collapsed there's no point in locking the damn doors. Meet up at designated locations and return home right now."

-------------------

One of the teams had been rocked but not lost any people, the four of them got up and were about to continue when they got the call to return.

"Roger boss, all ok and accounted for with team 6. We'll go to the next station and go topside, one of the tunnels behind us probably fell in." With a reply telling them to be safe they made their way to the station. They saw a group of four and took positions of cover and slowly approached. When they were close enough they spoke

"What are you doing...." That was when the leader of the small group saw the figure hanging from the ceiling.

"Get down!" He shouted as they leveled their weapons at where their leader pointed and all four of them opened fire on the cyborg as they ran for cover. Four people wandering around a tunnel was one thing, a creature hanging onto the ceiling was quite another.

Ilya held her hands over her ears, in an attempt to the silence the deafening noise coming from every which way. The acoustics of the place wrecked havoc on her ear drums. Ilya stumbled to the side, hitting a wall as the sound caused her extreme discomfort. When it was over, her ears were still ringing. The sound was extremely loud and fierce, judging by everyone else's reaction but another concern came up.

"Derrick, we need to keep moving." Ilya still said lightly. "The infected could have heard that for miles... people too."

Before she could continue, she saw blue life forms up ahead forming up.

"What are you doing-" Ilya dashed behind cover, instinctively when she face people she didn't know. "Get down!"

Gunfire rang out and once again the loud boom of firearms filled Ilya's ears with discomfort. She put her hands over her ears once more as the bullets flew above them into something behind them. Ilya knew this because otherwise they would have been dead already. Ilya saw Derrick out in the open and tugged him aside toward her, not wanting him to catch a stray bullet or piece of debris. Ilya owed him enough so she might as well start paying back.

As William quickly left the safe haven, Allison turned to Platinum. "C'mon!" She said, as she started dashing into the tunnels herself; not quite sure of the destination at this point. "Redding, stay here!" was the last thing she shouted before she was out of sight.

The figure dashed from its current position on the ceiling, ironically heading in the direction of the men that were shooting at it, in an attempt to avoid a premature demise. It was moving with inhuman speed, on all fours, loping more like a feral cat, than the man it presumably was.

A few of the gunshots hit their marks, burning into the creature's flesh; he was determined to keep going despite the pain. It's not like he was in any danger of dying from these wounds, at least not yet. He darted past the men shooting at him, and retreated into the tunnel that they came through.

Allison caught sight of the figure, as she was running into the station. She pointed her shotgun at the ceiling, and unloaded two rounds at the creature's position, but it had leapt past her, leaving her shots to only hit part of the aged structure, causing small bits of stone to fall to the ground.

When the creature had escaped everyone's sight, another high pitched, ear shattering sound was heard. This time, coming from two of the derelict subway cars in the station. After a few short seconds, a charge went off in the cars, and they exploded, spreading flaming bits of metal and glass nearby.More likely an attempt by the creature to wound and distract, rather than outright kill.

The carrier took off after Allison, intent on showing she could do more precise damage than her boomstick, when something caught her new partner's attention. She fired at it, but it darted away, and it was far out of Platinum's range. She was about to ask what the hell that was, until the noise came, such an unbearable noise. It drowned out all her thoughts until the explosions rang out again. The cars she traversed through before were blown up and shattered like a piece of glass.

"Fuck!" she cursed as she ran to catch up with Allison. "Let's get the hell out of here! I'm not built to deal with exploding critters!"

As Derrick walked, he noted that Cybille at first voiced some concern, but then seemed to calm easily enough and began to hum some old tune. It was enjoyable, and a good contrast to the dark stale atmosphere around them. Though, it seemed that was not going to last, as explosions and rumbling tossed everyone off their balance, and largely off their feet. As Derrick rose up to see if everyone was alright, someone began shouting at him. He wasn't going to make a damned thing out though as his ears were still ringing for the moment, and another set of movement caught his attention. Something...leaping from the ceiling? Derrick pointed his pistol, hoping to get a lead, but it ran much faster than was expected, and decided that perhaps laying down was the better option, and taking Cybille down with him as he did so. Especially when the men in front of them began firing. Wouldn't do to get hit by bullets after making it this far.

After landing on the ground, Derrick's mind started to get to work. He knew that all those explosives meant that this place was now the most unsafe place to be. In fact, the entire damned city was probably now nothing more than a death trap. Meaning they needed to get to the entrance, and get the hell out of there. Or at least some kind of fast transportation to get them out. This thought seemed to echo even more in his head as additional explosions went off. Yeah, definitely time to go....but first things first.

"....You alright?" Derrick said, largely to Cybille, but he directed it to no one in particular right now. He rose, taking a quick look around to see if there were any charges around himself. If there was, at least he had a direction to run away from, rather than stepping about randomly. He regarded for a moment the individuals in front of him, only to quickly dismiss them and move to help Cybille up. "Sorry, my fair lady. Seems the exciting day isn't done yet."

"What are you doing... Get down!" No sooner had the words left the stranger's mouth than gunfire began to ring out, accompanied by much louder noises that Sonia assumed were bigger guns than pistols. It was all a bit much: Sonia felt her ears hurting soon after the shooting started.

Derrick had dragged Cybille to the floor, and the merchant's friend had followed suit. Sonia soon joined them. She tried to curl up and cover her head with her hands, but it was difficult in a dress and heavy coat. And it was still quite dark... Knew I should have put that penlight in my purse instead of that dang bag.

She didn't get up instantly when the shooting stopped. Only when the others started to sound a bit more friendly did she peek her head out from under one arm. "Sorry, my fair lady. Seems the exciting day isn't done yet." Derrick was assisting Cybille in getting back to her feet. Sonia hesitantly got up, brushing herself down with one hand. "What on earth just happened..." she mused to no-one in particular, taking up the familiar position of hovering near Sapphire.

"It's alright but I'm here, darling, to enjoy the party..."Cybille didn't like how her voice echoed in the tunnel, keeping her voice to herself. A few stray sounds made her jump, but nothing seemed to come out of them. Nothing, that was, until a high pitched beep suddenly ruptured her eardrums.

Really, the sound was enough to give her a headache and screech as she covered her ears. As soon as it stopped, there was the sound of an explosion in the distance, shaking some dust and pieces of stone from the ceiling. It more than enough to inspire Cybille to duck behind a chunk of wall. It all happened so quick. She heard what must have been Derrick nearby. Her ears were still ringing, and everything sounded muffled and distant. Derrick must have tried to tell her to get down or something, because a few seconds later he had her on the ground. She tried to say something about being on top, but there was more noise. Gunshots. Unmistakable. Cybille shut up and covered her ears until Derrick released her.

She sat up."...you..alright...?"All these explosions were going to ruin her hearing. She just nodded, letting him help her up. The source of the gunfire was a group of people on the other side of the tunnel."WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Even her own voice sounded faint. The only way she was even sure she was shouting was the burn in her throat.

Derrick flinched slightly as Cybille started shouting at the men who had been firing at...whatever it was that was bounding about. At times she wasn't exactly the most...civil about things, though it was rather understandable at this point. He didn't take kindly to those simply opening fire on something which just bounded about without a care. And especially in the dark where explosions have been going off. In any case, she seemed perfectly fine which was excellent for himself.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Derrick said, a small half grin forming as he did so. He looked over to where Ilya had gone, whom he knew had tugged at him when the gunfire had started, wanting to pull him to safety. Though, she wouldn't know the nature of him knowing these particular women, and with any luck he wouldn't need to dance around it at any point.

Leaning in close, Derrick figured her ears were still ringing since he continued to have a low humming in his own from the explosions. Hoping he could be heard, he whispered directly to her. "If you are alright, we should get moving. I don't want to stay around this city any longer. This particular event is...a big change, and I would not have you stuck within it."

Standing tall now with hopefully the explosions done with, he looked about quickly to finally note Ruby down on the ground, still hiding from the shots and explosions. Couldn't blame her at this point. Now he wished he had grabbed a larger flashlight when he had been at the locker. But, no point in waving it about now. Derrick now stood with an arm around Cybille, and the other holding his pistol. It was indeed an exciting day, and he began hoping it would end on a less exciting note.

Cybille took a deep breath, leaning her head for a quick second on Derrick's shoulder before deftly plucking his hand off her waist and replacing them with her own. "Yeah."

Her amethyst eyes carefully observed the group a few yards away. Working class men, could be thugs, she supposed, but since they weren't making demands or anything, she decided to go with plain ol' workers for now. It looked like there were 5 or 6 of them. And they were standing between them and their new destination: a ladder leading to the surface. The shakes had left the cover slightly ajar, but the leaking sunlight was insignificant compared to the newly lit fires behind them.

"Sorry for being rude, but bullets aren't the best introduction, are they?" Cybille apologized, feigning a lot more emotion than she meant. "I hope you weren't shooting at us, or you have terrible aim. Although it looks like that was the case either way. But we need to get back up there." she pointed up. "We're not going to have any problems here, are we?"

Ilya emerged from her impromptu hiding place to see Derrick and that woman up and about albeit very cautious. She couldn't blame her though as the loud gunfire along with the crescendo of explosions nearby made her ears continually ring for the time being. Ilya collected herself and looked forward to the men that shot above them rather than at them. A figure bounded past them earlier bringing the attention to it but causing a whole lot of ruckus in between. Ilya's eyes were alive with activity as she scanned for any more threats but it was only that figure that she questioned. Why was that thing here and most importantly, what did it want?

Then the woman began speaking to the people up ahead wondering if they would let them pass towards the ladders behind them. Ilya was interested in what would transpire next. There was nothing Ilya could do since she wasn't that "helpful" when trying to convince someone but hopefully Derrick would help with that.

William ran out to the station as the explosions occurred, he was rocked and knocked against the wall. He got up with ears ringing as he slowly walked through the tunnel until his hearing and balance cleared up. He ran and joined the group nearby who had guns leveled at a group of what appeared to be civilians.

"What is going on here." He asked the team leader, his pistol ready at his side.

"We found this group traveling the tunnels. There was something hiding on the ceiling behind them and we opened fire. Whatever it was it certainly wasn't human, it moved quick even with a direct hit. Probably cyborg or carrier. Now this one" He motioned his gun towards the one who William assumed had been the one speaking just before he showed up. "wants us to simply let them walk out of here." William turned to the new group.

"First of all, that's a bad idea. Those explosions opened up holes to the streets, and with this new infection spreading like wildfire I wouldn't want to risk having the ground fall out from under me while the zombies either start falling in or are near me. Second, I suggest you watch the threats. Especially considering you look like you never held a gun, much less fired one. Now orders say I should kill you for trespassing in out tunnels while there is a lockdown in effect, but I'm not necessarily one to follow every order I'm given. So you have two options, take your chances on the surface or follow us." The men lowered their weapons but kept them ready at their sides in case something else came their way.

Why didn't you just call her a whore and call it a day? Foolish man...Luckily....

Derrick stepped forward, hoping to cut off any further problems in communication directly at this point. Taking a quick look about, he dusted himself off and then addressed the apparent leader of these underground folks. He was slightly familiar with this type of living. Those who made a living largely in the past. Underground, in the old subways, usually as demolition men, ironically enough. He didn't anticipate finding any down here, but then he couldn't claim to walk these paths all that often either.

"Frankly, we figured it be a better idea to be down here rather than up there. Seems that wasn't quite the correct choice seeing as you have....some interesting creatures roaming about." Derrick said, having his own pistol at his side as well. "But if you have a better location than up above, you can go ahead and lead on. Though, I'm interested to hear how you have a better spot since I doubt the city is going to stay standing above our heads for long. And frankly....if you arn't the ones setting the explosives, I imagine the ones who are don't plan on stopping here. And since it looked like that...thing was bulletproof, I would rather get out of the area rather than stay where it would be happy to blow us all to hell, and bring the city on top of us."

Now, lets see where this particular group can take us. Hell of a day...though a kill order going out? That's....interesting. Who would be giving out kill orders down here, especially when the official kill order seems to blow all the tunnels to hell?

"Sorry, we were out on the streets when the surprise lockdown came up. Normally, we'd would be safe up in the Sparrow, buuut..." she trailed off. "Well, I'm not one to turn down a safe place to stay. I assume, since you work in demolitions, that your haven is securely reinforced and will not cave in from these explosions, so it should be lovely if you'll have us." she indirectly reassured Derrick. She was sure he had good intentions, but damn if he wasn't suspicious as hell. Not going back up to the surface sounded like a good idea. If she died buried under collapsed chunks of city it still sounded better than gunned down by guards or becoming fast food for mutants.

Still, she wasn't enjoying the hostile atmosphere."Cheer up, hercule~ " she smiled, trailing the demolition man's arm lightly with her fingers as she walked by. "We'll have a great time."

As Cybille said her particular part, seeming quite intent on staying down here with these fellows of the past, he couldn't help but take a somewhat obvious look around himself, specifically at the demolition men and the man who had addressed them. Nothing too spectacular, but then again he figured that he looked less than his best as well. But, if Cybille was going to trust them.....

"Cheer up, hercule~, we'll have a great time."

Derrick watched as Cybille proceeded past the odd leader, saying something about having a great time. They were going to do this, for better or for worse. While Derrick couldn't claim to have many bad experiences with men under the thumb of The Baron, it didn't mean that they wouldn't try their best to turn the situation to their favor. Though, having a...great time....Derrick glanced at Ilya, shaking his head slightly as he did so. His optimism on this particular day would be found lacking if Cybille could read him as easily as she claimed to. That, and he knew that this situation wasn't going to be as grand as he wished it would be. But, he had played worse hands from the start, might as well keep playing this one through.

"Well, you heard the fine lady. Guess we shall go with this group's company. C'mon girls, no time to leave a mess behind like right now..." Derrick said, somewhat wryly as he slowly began making his way after Cybille, gaze sweeping over the group once more.

Well....if she plans on the fun time, I guess I'll just have to trust in her judgement. Nothing like a little adventure to go on top of my adventure.....I'm a damned idiot.